Bulwark App FAQ
Are you trying to find the Bulwark’s non-app FAQ? Click here.
What is the Bulwark App?
This is The Bulwark’s first standalone app. It’s designed to make reading, listening, and watching Bulwark content easier on your phone or iPad. The Bulwark App is available in the Apple and Google App Stores.
The app was designed with members in mind and includes new features to enhance your subscriber experience:
Read to me - listen to articles on the go
Save articles or shows for later
A “For You” feed where you can follow what you love
Audio-only versions of all our shows
Resize text
Switch to dark mode
Dedicated Read tab
Dedicated Watch & Listen tab
This is version 1.0. It will improve.
Do I need a Bulwark+ subscription to use this app?
You can download and browse the app for free. For unfettered access to our content, you’ll need an active, paid Bulwark+ subscription. Log in with the same email address you use on thebulwark.com. The Bulwark App and website are both hosted and powered by Substack.
If you do not know what email address you used to sign up for Bulwark+, search your inbox for newsletters, alerts or messages from The Bulwark. Use the address from anything that is getting PAID content from us.1
Will installing this app impact my other Bulwark notifications?
No. For version 1.0 of The Bulwark App, you have the option to have app alerts turned ON or OFF. You can control this via your mobile device settings for the Bulwark App.
Our editors will curate a limited daily selection of app alerts to let you know when new content is available.
Bulwark App alerts are separate from your Bulwark+ email preferences or your Substack App Notifications settings.
Is this the same as the Substack App?
No, the Substack App is a separate mobile app featuring all of your Substack hosted subscriptions, the Notes feed, livestreams and live chat all in one place.
The Bulwark App is powered by Substack but only contains Bulwark content. Your Bulwark+/Substack profile grants you access to Bulwark content in any of these spaces.
Will I see or hear ads?
If you are a paid Bulwark+ member and are logged in, you should not. The only time you theoretically might hear an ad on the app is if you watch a live show as it is happening. (We edit out the ad and upload an ad-free version after, so if you want to completely avoid ads, wait until the livestream is over.)
Can I subscribe inside the App?
Subscriptions are handled through Substack on the web. Click here to join, and here to access your account page.
What content can I access?
Articles, podcasts, and video content. Only recent work will be in this app. If you’re doing a deep dive or research, use the TheBulwark.com.
Does the App support comments?
Yes! If you are logged in, you should be able to comment and reply to others. This app will not notify you of replies.
Can I listen offline?
Yes, you can listen to and download audio of our shows. Due to file sizes, video downloads are not offered at this time.
Download the episode while you’re connected to the internet, and you can listen without a connection later.
To download:
Go to the Watch & Listen tab and click on Podcasts
Select the show and episode you want. (This downloads the audio file to your device’s storage, inside the app’s sandbox, not in your audio files.)
Tap the cloud icon with the downward arrow next to the play button. It is on the far left of the player bar at the bottom.
Once downloaded, the episode will play offline.
Alternatively, if you’re going on a flight and want to download a few episodes, the best way is to add them to your audio queue and to download them using the downward facing download icon on the right.
Note: Offline listening applies to downloaded podcast episodes only. Video and other content require an internet connection.
Are there transcripts?
Not yet. We are working on it! In the meantime, you can access transcripts below any video on TheBulwark.com. Just make sure you’re logged in.
Does the App work on TV?
The Bulwark App is a mobile device app for your smartphone or iPad. You can cast video from the Bulwark App on your phone/iPad to your smart TV. (You can also do this from the Substack app, too.)
If you have a smart TV hooked up to Apple TVs set-top box or powered by Google, you can also use the Substack TV native app.
Why does the app feel simpler than other news apps?
Because we designed it that way.
Version 1.0 is about stability, clarity, and access, not bells and whistles. We’d rather ship something solid and improve it than promise everything on day one. But the goal is to be simpler and less confusing so you can get to what you want to read or watch quickly and without hassle.
Help! I can’t find the app in the app store!
It’s possible that your device’s operating system has reached the end of its supported life.
If you have a pending system upgrade, completing that will usually fix it. If you can’t, the app may rely on operating system that were introduced after Apple or Google stopped supporting that OS version. Apple and Google make the decisions on which operating systems to keep supporting. This is out of our hands.
Something isn’t working. What should I do?
First: make sure you’re logged in with the same email address you use for your Bulwark+ subscription.
If something still looks off, email us at appfeedback@thebulwark.com with:
The device you’re using
What you expected to see
What actually happened
We read those emails, and they directly inform what we fix next. Screenshots are extremely helpful.
By this, we mean there will be a purple PAID notation at the top of any mailed newsletter to you, near the author’s byline.